(no subject)

The Times Arts & Leisure section is completely overrun by articles about DVDs, which "have reshaped the way we experience culture". Wow!

• "The esoterica of film culture, formerly consumed by a moneyed geek elite, is now aimed directly at - and snapped up by - the broader public."
• Interactive pornography! Six hours of There's Something About Mary! And a new set of Chaplin reissues! ( ... )
• Dance on DVD! Plays on DVD! Classical music on DVD (sometimes in cartoon form)!
• TV shows on DVD! Sometimes with commentary tracks! Like Wiseguy! ( ... )
• Music videos on DVD! Made by directors! ( ... )
• Art on DVD! David Byrne's PowerPoint art! (I'm open to the idea but unimpressed by the samples.) Also, Matthew Barney! ( ... )
• The DVD special even overflows to the front page of the paper, in an article which notes: Home video brings in more money than theatrical exhibition. DVD is the growth market in home video. Men buy more DVDs than women. And the DVDs they're buying are action movies. So, expect even more crap.

someday love will find you

A Magazine profile of Jon Brion, musical genius and pathological perfectionist. I think this article spends less time on "Jon Brion can play anything in any style" stories than any other I've seen, which is a big plus.

An awestruck fan interviews Steve Perry and the other guys from Journey. I'd put the Dave Eggers excerpt here, but I gave my copy to another Dave.

"Can the New Napster Survive?" Who cares? But I thought it took some nerve for someone from BuyMusic.com, the iTunes ripoff for Windows, to say "We're the first to interact with consumers on a digital platform".

A great article about Philadelphia's new Constitution museum.

And a feel-good piece on how nice New York was during the blackout, especially compared with the one in 1977. More historical context but less awesomeness than rollerboogie's story. (Also, a companion article notes that it wasn't nice for everyone.)